My favorite farmer and I met my freshman year at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Although we have only returned back to visit twice in the last 19 years, the school holds a special place in our hearts. Matt is the best thing that Dartmouth gave to me, and our journey together reflects two decades of love and partnership as we work to create a meaningful legacy on our farm.

My dear friend, Karyn, is the 2nd best thing that Dartmouth gave to me. I met Karyn when I visited Dartmouth on a swimming recruiting trip the fall of my senior year in high school. As a freshman member of the swim team, she had the privilege of “hosting” me on my weekend trip. She did such an awesome job that weekend that she became “stuck” with me for her remaining years at Dartmouth… Although our lives headed in different directions (thousands of miles apart) after graduation, I still count on Karyn’s support and friendship twenty years later.

Last week our family headed east to visit Karyn and her family as well as look at colleges for my favorite brunette who thinks that New England is the region of choice for college. While it seems hard to believe that I am old enough to have a daughter looking at colleges, the years tell a different story. We had an amazing trip — catching up with good friends and discovering more about the 5 colleges that Ashley Grace picked to visit: Cornell, Williams, Dartmouth, Colby, and Harvard.

This photo reminds me of how much Karyn and I have to be proud of — 23 years after fate brought us together in the mountains of New Hampshire…

Karyn “squared” outside the library at Dartmouth College…

My favorite brunette enjoying the Williams College campus…

The girls took a brief moment to dig their toes in the sand on the beach in Maine — remarking that there were likely more people on that beach than in our entire town of Cozad…

Matt and I felt the need to wear our Dartmouth shirts as we walked around Harvard’s campus — still feeling the competitive rivalry 20 years later…

I think that we even talked my favorite horse-loving God daughter and her big sister into coming out to the farm to visit next summer — with any luck they’ll bring their Mama with them 🙂

I know that the trip reminded me how important it is to take a break from a crazy busy life to spend some time with those I love — refilling the cup giving thanks for all of my blessings.

Thank you, Kim! We did have a good trip. It was so nice to get back to the Northeast and spend a week driving around visiting with friends and seeing colleges. Ashley Grace still has two years to decide what she is going to do — she will start her Junior year in a couple of weeks — but we wanted her to see the Northeast to make sure that was where she wanted to spend her college years. It seems a bit crazy, but my girls have never been to that part of the country even though Matt and I went to school there and we still have many friends that live in the area. It had also been too long in between visits with my friend Karyn and her family so it worked out really well to road trip together 🙂

It is great to hear from you! Thank you for the nice note. I really appreciate it.

Welcome to Feedyard Foodie

A native of urban Palm Beach County, Florida; I was an Ivy League educated athlete fueled by beef for many years before I understood “where my beef came from.” Now, I am a mother of three and live with my husband in Nebraska where we run a cattle feedyard and farming operation. Feed Yard Foodie is a site where people can come to read about the real story of beef, written by someone who actually gets their hands dirty.

Behind the Scenes at my Yard, Will Feed, Inc.

Search

Search for:

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Sites I like

Subscribe to Posts via RSS

Inspire

"Believing---there are several layers to it. There's the surface-level type of believing, where you acknowledge that something is true. Then there is a deeper kind of belief--the type that gets inside of you and actually changes you. It's the kind of belief that changes your behavior, your attitude, and your outlook on life, and the people around you can't help but notice."